With the addition of this phrase, John, of course, echoes the glorious scriptural doctrine of salvation by God’s grace alone without contribution through human effort. More specifically, within the context of the present paragraph, the term captures the logical consequence of God’s own words in Revelation 21:5: “I am making all things new.” Since God alone does the renewing, without human assistance, it follows that anyone thirsting for the renewed world may receive needed support without payment.
6 And he said to me, “It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. To the thirsty I will give from the spring of the water of life without payment.